Progress.

I never took baby bump pics when I was pregnant with the boys. I don't regret it either. Pregnancy is definitely not the most glamorous for me. :)

However, this time around, I am far away from family and I want them to be able to follow my pregnancy with baby boy #3.  

So, here we go. I'm putting myself out there.

18.5 weeks, 21 weeks, 23 weeks (today)

There is definitely a baby in there! 

I'm feeling pretty good these days.  Besides some lower back and hip pain, I really can't complain.  At 23 weeks this little guy most likely weighs about 1lb and is the size of a small doll.  :)

We still haven't picked a name.  Choosing a 3rd boy name is proving to be difficult! AND It's tough finding a name that goes with our last name. Hopefully he will be named before he arrives.

We have yet to start on the nursery.  I recently bought bottles, and the crib, dresser/changing table, and rocker are in his room and that's about it.  My 0-3 month boy clothes are some how lost (how this happened... i have no idea?!?) so there are lots of things to buy and prepare.  

We will be heading to Birmingham towards the end of February for my beautiful sweet cousin, Ivy's, wedding. My goal is to start getting things ready for this little guy once we return to Omaha.  I'll be 27 weeks along at that point.

(rabbit trail.... In every wedding that I have been in, I have either been pregnant or have just had a baby.  NOT good for photos I tell you. Someone, please! Ask me to be in your wedding when that is not the case!)

Well, I know this is not a very exciting post, but i'm sure my family and close friends appreciate it.  I need to update you all on my big boys soon!

My Pregnancy To Date.

I thought it would be a good idea to think back and document what my pregnancy with little guy has been like so far.

We had a really, um, interesting beginning.

I took a positive pregnancy test on Sunday, Sept 23rd.  This also happened to be John and mine's 6th wedding anniversary.  We weren't trying to get pregnant at the time (so the story goes with each of our children!) so it was a really nice surprise, as we weren't really trying to prevent it either.

We got to celebrate two big occasions on a date that night at a really yummy restaurant.  Unfortunately my celebrating didn't include wine and a medium rare steak.

The stomach issues started that night on the way home from dinner.  And, it was downhill from there.  The first trimester of this pregnancy included lots of nausea, fatigue, and just plain feeling yucky.  My pregnancies with Joe and Noah were so much more pleasant at that stage.

I have irregular cycles (TMI maybe??) so they got me in pretty quickly for an ultrasound, since we weren't sure how far along I was.

This is the image that we got at, what turned out to be, 5 weeks and 6 days gestation...

"Well would you look at that. There are TWO sacs there."

....John and I looked at each other with big eyes and my filled with tears. 

I was overwhelmed, anxious, and to be honest, freaked out.  

I was thinking to myself: God, what in the world is going on here?! I already have two kids AND I'm 17 hours away from my family.  I don't know if I can handle this. 

We scheduled another ultrasound for two weeks later.  The nurse practitioner who performed my ultrasound said that it is common for one of the sacs to disappear, especially since one of mine was smaller than the other and it was so very early in my pregnancy.

The next two weeks of waiting was very emotional for me.  I had constant questions running through my head, worries, unknowns, and fears.  I just wanted to be excited about this pregnancy.  

(Please know, that I believe every life is a blessing from God, and a lot of my emotionally tough couple of weeks was spent wrestling with guilt for not being super excited about the possibility of carrying twins. I'm just being honest here.)

Fast forward two weeks.  Ultrasound time. 

How am i going to feel if there are still two?  How will I feel if one is gone?

The image appeared on the screen.  One healthy baby. No sign that a second sac ever existed.

The ultrasound tech said that it may never have been a baby.  It could have been a sac of blood or a sac of nothing.  

With that, I felt relieved.  I was worried about dealing with a sense of loss, but it didn't seem to be the case.  

At around 13 weeks, the all day and night morning sickness pretty much disappeared.  To this day, i still get nauseas if my stomach is empty or with really yucky smells, but I feel much better than I did!

I never wrote letters to Joe or Noah, but I wish that I did.  I guess it's never too late to start with any of them. 

Baby Boy-

We are working really hard on naming you.  My pregnancy with you has been so different that I thought you would probably be a girl.  Honestly, I was hoping you would be a girl, so I didn't spend much time thinking about boy names.  As soon as we saw you, as healthy as could be, wiggling around in my tummy, even with a pee pee, we loved you and were so excited about you.  You see, one of my best friends just lost her little one, only a couple of weeks older than you.  She was going to be your best buddy, neighbor, and girlfriend :).  When the ultrasound tech said, "There is no mistaking. It's a boy!"  I didn't care that you weren't a girl. My hopes weren't shattered.  I was grateful, so grateful, that my hope for a healthy baby was still alive.  Your beautiful little friend in heaven put things in perspective for me.  I will tell her "thank you" one day.  

I can feel you moving a whole lot.  In the mornings, you can be felt on the outside. It's almost as if you are rolling around and stretching to get ready for the day.  Your Daddy couldn't feel Joe or Noah this early.  You must be a strong little one!

Joe and Noah are so excited about you.  They both wanted you to be a boy.  When your Daddy announced that that is just what you are, Joe said, "That's just what I wanted!!"  They rub my belly and talk to you.  They haven't been able to feel you yet, but they ask every day when they will be able to. They have a couple of name ideas for you, but I don't think we will be taking their advice. :)  "Bullet" and "Ronnie Crest" are a couple of them.  (Who knows?!?)

We already love you.  We pray for your health and development, and we thank God that His plan for you is to be a part of our family.  We can't wait to see God's plan for your life unfold.

Love, 

Mommy

  

Hello. It's Been A While.

Goodness gracious.  I think I forgot that I had a blog? And how about this header? SO outdated. (Honey- think you could come up with something else?)

I won't attempt to catch up, but I do have some news to share. And, hopefully this will be the beginning of documenting what is to come for our family.

I am 19 weeks and 1 day pregnant with our third child. (WHAT?!?) Yesterday we had the big ultrasound to find out the sex of this sweet little blessing.

Guess what?!? 

...........................We are having.......................

.

...................................A...................................

BOY!!!

Three baby boys in our house. I'll be outnumbered 4-1.

I'll be honest and tell you that I desperately wanted a girl. But, I am still so excited and grateful for a healthy little guy.  John and I prayed together before the ultrasound, first for health, and second, that no matter what sex our child was, we would be nothing but excited for the little life that God has gifted us with.  God has had a plan for this sweet life for a looooooooong time, and I am comforted by that.

So begins the fun stuff. Nursery decorating, clothes shopping, and sifting through the sweet little outfits that Joe and Noah wore as tiny little things.

In other news, Hubby John has launched a new company called Illuma.  He's a rockstar when it comes to animated videos. Check out his website! And if you know of anyone, any company, or any ministry that might need his services, pass it along!

www.illumavideos.com

Thanks for letting me share our exciting news.

Back to Reality.

First, I would like to acknowledge that it has been a while since I have last posted. Hopefully, this post means I'm back. :)

We spent the last week in Palm Springs, CA. We go every spring to visit John's parents who have a home out there.  It is paradise, let me tell you!  Anyways, we had a great time, and as soon as John gets the photos on the computer I will post about our time there.

Like I said, we spent a week in paradise....

And now we have a lot of this going on...

On the way home from Palm Springs, Noah had a fever virus.  We hopped right back into reality.  Then, yesterday, just a few days after the dreaded virus, Noah was diagnosed with a nasty double ear infection. Awesome.
AND this morning, Joe woke up with a fever virus. His seems a little different than Noah's, and since Noah's was almost a week ago, I doubt it could be the same virus.  I would think Joe would have caught it way sooner than now. Anyways, some of Joe's best buds have it too. No fun! :(  My sweet boy missed one of his buddy's birthday party today and he will be missing his first baseball practice this evening.  He's certainly disappointed.

Notice the puffy red eyes?? I think it's an allergic reaction to something in Motrin.  The doc doesn't seem to think so since Benadryl doesn't give him any relief.  However, this only happens when Motrin comes into play.  Who knows??

So, I'm playing nurse for my two sick boys today.

I sometimes find that there is something empowering about that role.  I have two whiney needy little boys, yet I am taking care of them as usual, I've lysol-ed the house, vacuumed, mopped the floors, washed their bedding and have done a load of clothes.  Why can't I be this productive every day?!

If you get a minute, say a prayer for my little sicklings.

PB & J

It's been a while!

We've been busy making Peanut Butter and Jellies. Well, Joe has anyway....

We've also been sick. Yucky colds, fevers, Dr. visits, and an ear infection. :(

We've also been enjoying a pretty mild winter.

Dear Omaha,
Where is all this snow we have heard about?!? We appreciate you making this winter feel a little more like winter in the South, but we're ready to see the white stuff!


Hopefully this is the beginning of blogging on a more regular basis.  'Til next time!

Textersation with the Sista

You all seemed to enjoy the last one....

And I feel like the textersation I JUST had with my sister Ashley is blog worthy.

So much so that I am blogging in the middle of a stomach bug.

Here it goes....

A= Ashley (sister)
M= Misty (me)




A: I just love us

M: Hahaha

A:

M: Yeeeeah Sexy

M: Taken by the talented Joegy Schluchter  (this would be my son) ...

A: it's not fair to the human race how attractive I am.

M: I like to call this one..."Big Bama Boobs with Ear Damage"...

A: Gahahaha that's the day you made me bleed!!!!  (don't ask)

M: :) :) :) :)

M: ....I feel a blog post coming on....

M: "A Textersation with the Sista Part 2"

A: Ohhhhhhhhjh snaaaaaap!!!!!    (i don't know why she put a 'j' in there, but whatevs)

M: Hehehehehehehehehe





I am so thankful the Lord blessed me with a cray-cray sister. :)

Getting in the Christmas Spirit!

We spent yesterday afternoon and early evening getting festive.

Here are a few snap shots that we took during the process...

 It's so fun for the boys to hang ornaments 

that John and I had at their age.

 Thankful for a husband that will spend time

in the freezing cold hanging lights. :)

 John's grandmother made his and my stocking.

His mom made one for each of the boys.

 Noah posing by the tree.

 Good job, hubby!!

Christmas brings out the silliness in us.

When then decorating was over, we stuffed our faces with pizza, bread sticks, and wings. That will probably be tradition. YUM.

Hope the Christmas holiday is off to a good start for each of you! Merry Christmas! {that's the first time I've said that this year.... it feels good! :) }

My own little Rocky Balboa

Noah and I went to pick up Joe from school yesterday.  We got home and Noah had lots of toys to carry inside.  We walked around to the front of our house, where we have 2 concrete steps that lead up to our front porch and doorway.

I'm not exactly sure what happened, but it seemed as though Noah stepped on to the bottom step and his foot slipped off. His hands where full, so his brow bone caught the fall on the top step.

OUCH.

He cried immediately and I watched as a big bruised swollen bump appeared quickly right before my eyes.  My heart broke and everything inside of me wanted to panic.

Thank goodness John was working from home.  His calmness kept me from having a heart attack :).

I spent time on the phone talking with nurses while John held Noah in front of one his favorite shows with an ice pack (our friend the bumble bee boo-boo buddy).

We all came to the conclusion that there was nothing to worry about.  No concussion or other head injury symptoms, so we put him down for a nap after a couple of hours and a good lunch.  They told us to go and "stir" him every couple of hours during nap time, just to make sure he was responding in some way.

---- Normally, these kind of things don't phase me.  I can look at the goriest of gore and I don't get nauseous or panicky.  When it's my own child, apparently, it's a different story. I was panicky. worried. nervous. nauseous. quick to pray.----

Anyways, when he woke up from his nap, he looked like this.....

...only a little worse, because his eye wasn't opened at all. 

Back on the phone with the nurses.

I didn't expect for it to swell up that much more. Was it fractured? I needed assurance.

We still concluded that there was nothing to worry about.  They did suggest (proper protocol) that we either sleep with him for the next 2 nights, or "stir" him every two hours as a precaution.

We chose to take turns waking up every couple of hours. He did great over night, but woke up looking like this....

My poor guy.

They said it would probably get uglier and take at least a week for all of the swelling to go down and for most of the bruising to go away.

The good news?  This hasn't seemed to affect him at all. 

Still all boy.

Still playing hard.

Not complaining.... he's a trooper.

(sorry for the blurry pictures... it's hard to capture decent ones, 

especially on the cell phone, when they are playing!)

I'm thankful it is nothing serious. So very thankful. But my heart still hurts every time i look at his little eye.

**Joe just told me that he put that ^^helmet^^ (aka red fire fighter hat) on Noah to protect his boo boo. These brothers sure can be sweet. :) **

A Whole Lotta This

Going on around here.

I'm pretty sure this is what we will be doing all winter long.

These boys are having a blast and this keeps them entertained for an hour at a time.
Not much can do that. :)

Here's to a winter full of forts! 

(don't tell the boys it's a fort. they call it a 'tent'. no forts around here.)

What in the world are you doing, God??

Do you ever find yourself asking that question?

I asked that question when God moved me away from my family in Birmingham. I still don't know the answer for sure.

I asked that question when, almost 6 months ago, my 24 year old sister lost her husband of 9 months. I don't know the answer.

I ask that question when my friend has tried and tried and tried to have a baby and it just hasn't happened yet. Her heart hurts.

What are you doing, God??

My sweet 16 year old cousin is suffering from an undiagnosed illness. They aren't sure how to treat it. It is taking a toll on her family.

Her daddy is a pastor and he just recently spoke to his church about this journey that his family is going through.  Watch this video. You might need it.

I don't know what God is up to. But He is good. And i do know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)


Click here to watch. Make sure the video you are watching is called "My Story". (it should be the 2nd video from the top)

Missing my Family

God blessed me with an AWESOME family. Following the Lord's call on our lives and leaving Birmingham, Alabama wasn't hard at all. It was leaving my family that was hard.  I'm missing them today.

sisters :)

(i really can't believe i missed out on this one...)

it's not as fun watching Bama games without my Bama family :)

 mom and dad!!

come back to Omaha, cousin Mandy!!

...just looking through some random photos. my family is BIG so there may not be a picture of everyone, but i sure do miss them all. 

In this season of thanksgiving, I'm thanking the Lord for blessing me with the best family in the world!

In other news.... this guy...

is turning 4 one week from today.

what??!!??!!??!!

I'm so thankful for my sweet, loving, stubborn Joe man.